Student Attitudes Towards German as a Foreign Language at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka

This study investigates the attitudes of undergraduate students towards studying German as a foreign language at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, located in Enugu State within the South East geopolitical zone. Despite German being offered as a full degree programme at this institution, anecdotal evidence suggests that student enrolment has declined in recent years, prompting concerns about the long-term sustainability of the programme. The study adopts a descriptive survey design and draws on data collected from 180 first- and second-year German language students using a validated Likert-scale questionnaire. The instrument measures affective, cognitive, and behavioural dimensions of student attitudes. Findings indicate that the majority of students hold moderately positive attitudes towards German, driven primarily by perceived career benefits and intellectual curiosity. However, negative attitudes were associated with the perceived difficulty of German grammar and limited exposure to authentic German cultural content. The study finds that students who had prior exposure to German culture through media or personal contact demonstrated significantly more positive attitudes. Recommendations include the incorporation of intercultural communication components into the curriculum and the establishment of student exchange initiatives with German-speaking universities. The study contributes to foreign language attitude research in Nigerian higher education and provides evidence-based recommendations for programme administrators. Keywords: student attitudes, German language, University of Nigeria Nsukka, foreign language learning, curriculum.